Gyroscopic Investing

Thought you guys might enjoy this interview on my podcast:

"Mike talks about how he saved his way to financial freedom, without a college degree or a high-powered job."

Link:http://thevoluntarylife.blogspot.com/20 ... rview.html
Audio: http://thevoluntarylife.com/TVL_E089_fi ... usness.mp3

Great stuff, as usual. I love the part about college, and it echoes my experience and that of many of my peers. Graduating with a ton of debt can semi-permanently transform you into a debt-slave, especially if your education didn't give you strong career prospects, which is all too easy in the age of fluffy useless degrees and apparent mass delusion regarding their uselessness.

There's a lot to recommend the low-earning-low-spending-low stress lifestyle.

Pointedstick wrote: Great stuff, as usual. I love the part about college, and it echoes my experience and that of many of my peers. Graduating with a ton of debt can semi-permanently transform you into a debt-slave, especially if your education didn't give you strong career prospects, which is all too easy in the age of fluffy useless degrees and apparent mass delusion regarding their uselessness.

Since student debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy and you have a major in Womyn's Studies or African Tribal Movements, are you doomed to an eternity of hell?  I have not seen or read any reporting on the long-term unintended consequences of people in this fix.  Are these so-called debt prisoners neglected by a Dickenesian society?  Can they ever achieve the American Dream or rise to the upper crust?

The most I know so far of the possible consequences is around Berkeley, CA where the graduated prisoners are in their 30's and still working as Baristas in Starbucks all over town, etc. (which I assume only pays minimum wage).  That's got to be pretty depressing!  OTOH, maybe this goes along with the decline in the desire to get married or have children.

MachineGhost wrote: Since student debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy and you have a major in Womyn's Studies or African Tribal Movements, are you doomed to an eternity of hell?  I have not seen or read any reporting on the long-term unintended consequences of people in this fix.  Are these so-called debt prisoners neglected by a Dickenesian society?  Can they ever achieve the American Dream or rise to the upper crust?

You pretty much nailed it. There is no real hope for them outside of winning the lottery, family charity, catastrophic illness (causing a bankruptcy judge to take pity and invoke some obscure provision), or agreeing to live in poverty for 25 years (at which point the remaining balance disappears).

It's a terrible, terrible shame, and there's no hope for these people on the horizon. My sister-in-law and her husband are in this position and we're all worried as hell for them.